SIALKOT: Construction work on Sialkot Business and Commerce Centre (SBCC) has been suspended for over a year for paucity of funds due to which local exporters and stakeholders in this mega project are apprehensive.

They have sought the federal government’s help in early issuance of funds to complete the much-delayed project.

The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) had started this project on four kanlas adjacent to the SCCI in 2007.

The then federal minister for industries Jehangir Khan Tareen had laid the foundation stone on July 10, 2007 that had to be completed by 2009. Under an agreement between the SCCI and the government, both stakeholders had to equally share the project’s cost of Rs341.67 million.

The government issued the first tranche of funds in 2009 after which its construction started after a delay of two years - the year the project had to be completed in. The two-year delay also increased the cost of this project.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, SCCI President Dr Sarfraz Bashir expressed concern and said lack of funds was the main reason behind this inordinate and year-long delay in construction of the building. He said the delay had increased the cost of this project manifold.

He said further structure of the building was complete while its finishing was still to be done. The contractor had halted work in 2012, saying the cost estimated in 2007 was not enough to complete the project.

Dr Bashir said the delay in issuance of funds had forced the stakeholders to prepare a revised PC-1 of this project.

“We prepared a new PC-1 of this project, which was submitted to the Ministry of Planning and Development for final approval after its prior approval by the Ministry of Industries,” he added.

He said the new PC-1 was awaiting approval by the ministry concerned for seven months. “We have held several meetings with Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and he had assured us of ensuring the funds were released as early as possible,” the SCCI president added.

He said under the new PC-1, Rs190 million were immediately needed to restart the suspended construction work. “Once complete, it would be of great benefit to Sialkot, its exporters and exports,” he said.

The SCCI president claimed the SBCC building would be the “biggest in the history of Sialkot”. During fiscal year 2012-13, the federal government did not issue the required funds citing “flaws” in the project.

Senior officials of Smeda had deputed staff of the SBCC at a Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Programme help desk set up at the centre.

Two quarters of the current fiscal year had passed but the SBCC staff had not been paid their salaries for seven months due to lack of funds. Even Smeda did not have enough funds to pay the workers, local exporters said.

Meanwhile, some local construction experts said the structure of the SBCC building was being affected by the weather and urged the government to save it.

It was feared that millions of rupees would go down the drain if Smeda did not look into the entire matter.